An optical waveguide structure is a device which constrains or guides the propagation of light waves along a path defined by the physical construction of the waveguide. It is important to be able to join optical waveguides together or to substrates or other supportive devices.
The waveguides, substrates and supportive devices are constructed of materials comprising silicon or germanium or their oxides and oxide based glasses and crystals. Examples of silicon or germanium based objects which may be joined together include, but are not limited to, silica-based optical fibers, silicon-based V-groove supports for attaching fibers to a planar waveguide structure, oxide surface layers comprising silicon or germanium, and optical devices comprising inorganic oxides. In some cases it is useful to have an attachment or coupling that is chemically stable at temperatures above about 300.degree. C. with some applications requiring an upper stability temperature of above 1000.degree. C. in order to permit further processing of the joined devices.
It is known that the joinder of silica-based optical fibers to substrates and to one another can be achieved in several ways. These can include melting, use of epoxy resins or other organic materials as the layers, use of mechanical devices, and the use of silica particle dispersions. While each of these can serve a purpose, they have certain deficiencies. For example, melting can be expensive, and it can cause deformation and loss of optical signal. Organic resin layers are thermally and chemically unstable at high temperatures and under other conditions at which some processing or operating of the attached pieces is to be accomplished. The use of mechanical attachments devices typically involves clamps or similar fixtures, together with additional lens systems, and may be suitable only to a small range of applications and/or materials. The use of silica particle dispersions as precursors to silica for adhesion is known, but the composition range (both of the layer and of the materials attached) is limited.
Furthermore, it is important also to be able to make connections between fibers and substrates with a very high degree of repeatability so that many connections can be made, without fault, on the same substrate. Otherwise, it may be impractical to make a device that requires many connections. Another issue is that it is desirous to make the connections fairly quickly and efficiently.
Accordingly, it is the object of the invention to provide silicone materials which can be processed into silica, germanosilicate or other glassy materials to attach, join or couple glassy objects to substrates such as silicon, germanium, silica, or silicates. The present invention allows for the quick connection of optical waveguide structures.
A futher object of the invention is to provide methods for forming silica, silicate binding layers from the silicone materials. An additional object of the invention is to produce joined optical components.
These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following summary and description of the invention and from the claims.